HADLEY, MA. – Senior forward Maya Cwalina (Middle Village, N.Y.) and junior guard Laura Mendell (Westport, Mass.) of the Amherst College women's basketball team were awarded All-NESCAC honors when they were announced today. Cwalina earned NESCAC Defensive Player of the Year, and both players accorded All-NESCAC Second Team selections.

Cwalina earns her first All-NESCAC selection and Defensive Player of the Year honors after a season of dominating opposing players in the paint and helping Amherst allow only 51.4 points per game this season. The Mammoths' best rim protector, the 6'2" Cwalina has racked up an impressive 87 blocks in 26 games this season, good for an NCAA and NESCAC leading 3.4 blocks per game average that was almost double that of the next-closest player. She also recorded a rare blocks-rebounds double-double on Jan. 18 against Little three rival Wesleyan in an 8-point, 10-rebound, 10-block performance. Her 204 career blocks are second in program history.

Mendell's Second Team selection is her first All-NESCAC award. As the Mammoths leader on the offensive end, Mendell poured in 13.8 points, 2.9 assists, and 3.3 rebounds per game this season while shooting an 42.3 percent from the field. Her 13.9 points per game is good for ninth in the NESCAC, and her 74.3 percent mark from the line puts her eighth in the conference. She also put in work on the defensive end, recording 1.6 steals per game, a top-10 mark in the NESCAC.

The Mammoths will take the short trip to Smith later this week for the opening weekend of the 2025 NCAA Championships, taking on Vassar College in the round of 64 on Friday, March 7 in Northampton. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:45 p.m.